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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430192">Day 148</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard'>Josh_the_Bard</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Year in Kirkwall [148]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:54:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>567</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430192</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Year in Kirkwall [148]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Day 148</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Huon sat in his sell disparing for his future. He had acted as the good mage all his life. He had followed most of the rules and threw himself into research. He had given up trying to contact his wife so that she could move on and not be bound to the Circle as he was. His only crime had been ordering books, yet the templars had dragged him from the library in front of everybody and locked him in a cell anyway.</p><p>When Senior Enchanter Wynn, a hero both in Ferelden and the Circles, had visited Kirkwall, he had been chosen to present his findings to her. He tried to help the templars by researching the connection between abominations and possessed creatures. Nothing he had done had amounted to anything, he had been given no chance to explain or defend himself. Just tosses unceremoniously in a cell with enough food and water to last the night.</p><p>At first he had begged the templars guarding his cell for an explanation. Then he had asked only for blankets. Then all he wanted was to hear someone else’s voice but they denied him even that. The Circle was said to be a place of isolation but he realized now that it was packed to the brim with people. You couldn’t eat, sleep or piss by yourself in the circle. Huon had never known solitude until that night.</p><p>Hope arrived with the sound of mailed boots coming down the hallway. Someone new was coming. It could have just been a change in the guards but Huon was relieved to see that it was Thrask. The templar came to the door of the cell and peered inside. Huon could barely make out the man’s features in the dim light, but there was no mistaking the man’s beard, even in silhouette.</p><p>“What’s going to happen to me,” Huon croaked, his voice hoarse from shouting.</p><p>“Meredith wanted to make you tranquill,” Thrask said. Huon felt the waves of despair wash over him again. The whispering of demons becoming stronger. Perhaps he should listen to them, he thought. Better to surrender his mind willingly then to have it ripped away by the templars.</p><p>“But the First Enchanter spoke in your defence,” Thrask continued. “As did I. You are to remain in isolation until further notice and I can’t say what will change for you when you are released, but you will keep your life and your mind.”</p><p>That was something. He could return and yet…</p><p>“Will they take my books away?” Huon asked.</p><p>“Those deemed to be non-compliant have already been burned,” Thrask said. “As for the rest… nothing has been decided yet.” Huon could hear the pity in his voice that  said otherwise. What would he do without his books? There was precious little to bring joy to the mages in the circle, Huon had been more fortunate than most in that he actually enjoyed reading ancient lore all day, but without that what was the point?</p><p>“I’ll come back when I can,” Thrask continued. “But Meredith wants this to be a time of isolation and contemplation for you.”</p><p>Huon opened his mouth but nothing came out.</p><p>“Stay strong Huon,” Thrask said. “You are a good mage. Those of us who take our duties to the mages seriously remember that. This is not the end for you.”</p><p>And with that, he was gone.</p>
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